PETALING JAYA: The government is exploring ways to further strengthen the existing legal framework to handle matters related to sexual exploitation of children online, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, offences related to online child sexual abuse materials involved six categories of offences with jail terms ranging from five years to 30 years, including whipping.
Besides that, Act 792 provides that online sexual offences against children include child grooming, sexual communication with children and causing children to watch or listen to sexual materials.
"Last year, two new amendments were approved to battle online sexual abuse on children, namely Section 15A Act 792 on sexual performances by children and Section 15B of the Act for sexual extortion on children.
"In view of the crime of online sexual abuse on children is a cross-boundary issue, Section 3 Act 792 clearly provides that any Malaysians who committed a child sexual abuse offence outside the country can be considered to have committed it within the country.
"This ensures that legal action can be taken against Malaysians who committed child sexual offences overseas,” she said in a statement on Monday (Jan 8).
"The government is studying to widen the scope of protection to include situations in which violations are committed to Malaysian children by individuals overseas.
"This legal development aims to provide better protection to Malaysian children regardless of the geographical location of the offender," Azalina added.
